Every student will admit that, at least once, he or she memorized something -- a math formula, maybe, or a sonnet or a date in history -- just to repeat it for the test.
Several weeks later, the fact gets forgotten.
For 6 Dartmouth College freshmen memorizing Bible verses together, life is the test, and they want to pass it every day.
They know where to find answers, too -- God's Word, which overflows with accessible, practical, life-changing truths.
But the students need to remember the answers they find in the Bible, and the test won't always be "open book."
"I am not just memorizing it," says Dave Latham, one of the 6. "I am committing to have this memorized always, to always know it."
Always is a long time for someone who still hasn't declared his major in college. But even though Dave can't see what lies ahead in the next four years, he stands firm on this life choice.
And so do the other '01's (which is Dartmouth-talk for the class of 2001), because they know it can be done.
After all, their Bible-study leader Chris West -- director of Cru at the New Hampshire Ivy League school -- memorized 475 verses more than 10 years ago, and he still knows them word for word.
Chris began building his "arsenal," as he calls it, during his junior year at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1983.
To the then-new Christian, the Bible brimmed with undiscovered meaning and truth, and he wanted to know how to access the message between its covers.
"I developed an incredible love for the Scriptures," Chris says, "by observing seasoned Christians around me who had a handle on the Word."
He wanted that same kind of grip.
"People would read references as if they were common knowledge and it would drive me crazy that I couldn't find them," remembers Chris. "I wanted to make sure that didn't happen for long."
On his own initiative, Chris bought a package of wire-bound, 3x5-inch index cards and started writing down Bible verses that he liked, noting their "address" and copying every word onto the card. He also recorded the date when he wrote the verse down.
"I wanted the verses in my Scripture-memory books to be salient," explains Chris, so the slender blond underlined each verse with red ink in his Bible and marked each underlined passage with a telltale red "M."
Using this simple system, Chris memorized 207 verses in the Old Testament and 268 verses in the New Testament, including passages from 55 of the 66 books in the Bible.
"The best evidence was in discipleship appointments," remembers Hugh Williams, a former student in Chris' Bible study and currently a software consultant in Georgia.
"I would say, 'I know there is a verse that says something like this...' Chris would get this faraway look and then come back and would have the address and very often get the words exactly right."
Since he knows so many verses, Chris stands poised for teachable moments.
Last year, for instance, he entered the student union and bumped into a worried junior named Jay. The young man, surrounded by ambitious Ivy Leaguers with their eye on a professional prize, felt directionless and anxious about his future.
Chris pulled out his Bible and flipped to several Scriptures about guidance.
Such ready knowledge comes in handy with fellow staff members as well.
Lisa Kuzma, who now serves with Cru at Princeton University, labeled Chris the "Walking Concordance" back when they both worked at Cornell University.
"If I couldn't find a verse in the Bible I would just call him," says Lisa.
"He could either tell me right when I called or he would say, 'Give me two minutes,' and then call me right back. Every time it was exactly what I was looking for."
Convenience aside, Chris noticed a life change. By intentionally committing all those verses to memory, he says they come up naturally in conversation, and more surprisingly, in his mind.
"It is just part of my thought life," says Chris, who has worked as campus director for the Big Green since 1994.
"That is why I memorized Scripture. I wanted those thoughts up there." Chris laughs out loud: "I've got enough problems with the other thoughts."
For instance, an unpopular decision he made created an angry backlash from students on campus.
Chris recited Scripture and reminded himself what God thought about him. Reviewing truth helped him overcome his discouragement and stay the course God had led him on.
Arming Himself for Battle
The most intriguing part about Chris' success, perhaps, is that it belongs to someone with a reputation for forgetfulness. "It is funny," admits Carolyn, his wife of six years. "He is very absent-minded in a lot of ways."
Like the time he was supposed to watch his two-year-old son, Caleb, while his wife and infant daughter, Sophia, went to the doctors. Chris forgot. Several times he forgot about an appointment with a student.
"He doesn't have the best reputation for showing up at the right place at the right time," says Dave Latham, the Dartmouth freshman.
Chris works hard to remember. He returns to his written list of memorized verses several times a year, reviewing all 9 "books" of index cards just to keep them fresh and easily accessible to his memory.
"I have swords and shields for the battle," he says. Rather than adding to the list he created, Chris now invests his energy trying not to forget those weapons in the closet of his mind.
Memory for Life
And he helps others use Scripture memory to array an artillery against the demands of life and ministry. The idea to memorize Bible verses is not new, of course, at least not to Dave Latham.
"I've done Scripture memory before and even had a little bit of accountability with it," he says, "especially in Sunday school where I would get gold stars."
But this time, Dave says, he won't settle for a sticker. This time Dave wants the verse to stick in his life.
He's counting on it for always.
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